Friday, August 31, 2007

Thank You!

The only thing I can really say when I stop and think about all of you who are coming here and reading and praying for us is “Wow!” I am so blown away by it, and so grateful! I tell you what, if I ever start thinking “I’m not half-bad at handling crisis” or something ridiculous like that, all I have to do is think about the countless prayers that are being lifted up for me, and I know without any doubt that I am being carried by your prayers with God’s strength. To say it is humbling wouldn’t quite cover it all. It’s also convicting! Now that I am depending not only my own prayers, but also the prayers of others to help get us through this storm, I feel a sense of sadness that I have not had the urgency in my life before this to pray fervently for others when they are going through a crisis. In fact, I think in the past I have found myself analyzing the individual situations that come across the prayer request sheet more than actually lifting them up to Jesus and asking Him to carry them through and give them what they need. I pray that this will not be the case anymore, as God continues to give me new eyes for viewing the world around me.

Yesterday I was reminded of Frank Peretti’s books This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness. It has been years since I have read them, but I remember so vividly the powerful picture he paints of prayer warriors. He helps us see the work of prayer with human eyes by envisioning the demons and the angels gearing up for battle and being ever present in our daily lives. If you have read the books, you know that the angels are always praying to God and asking Him to lift up saints to give them “prayer coverage,” and as people pray, more and more angels are allowed to come and do literal battle with the demons who fight so desperately against them. I can picture a similar thing going on right now in our lives. I can see the demons like Despair, Anger, Bitterness, and Jealously all vying for the opportunity to sink their claws into us, but they can’t because the angels of heaven are standing guard around us, protecting us from their poison. I don’t know if this is exactly how it works, but I also don’t think it’s too far off the mark, and I take comfort in it!

I want to leave you with a few more things that I would like to ask you to pray for. I haven’t really doubted that God was going to use Poppy and her life in a beautiful way, but I haven’t given a lot of thought to how He was going to do that tangibly. Then yesterday it hit me that, in my eyes, the most amazing thing that could come out of this would be for someone to come to know Jesus as a result of Poppy’s life. This is going to be one of my prayers from this time forward. Also, please pray that God will give me wisdom in knowing how to share what is going on with people who haven’t yet heard. Just a few days ago I ran into a girl I used to work with, and she asked me what was going on. I froze. I didn’t want to just unload on her, yet at the same time the classic “not much” just didn’t seem to cover it. I know that I will face more situations like this in the future, so please pray that God will show me how to deal with this in the right way. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your love and prayers!

13 comments:

JewelJan said...

Dear Angie
You and Nathan and Marianna and Poppy are so precious to me! Just know that you are being held close in my heart and in my prayers. My heart leaps with joy when I think of you. "Weeping may endure for the night, but JOY comes in the morning" Love, Mom

Joanna Young said...

Angie,

This is exactly one of the beautiful lessons I learned about the Body of Christ as I was struggling with years of infertility and miscarriage. There were so many people praying for us that I was humbled to know that when I was weary in my prayers, there were many petitioning the Lord on my behalf. There were so many times that I just cried out to the Lord with groanings too deep for words. There were so many prayers that I had already prayed that I felt like they were becoming a more of a weary chant. I relied heavily on the prayers of the many prayer warriors who I knew could pray in words that I could no longer utter. Keep this truth in your heart...when you feel like you can't pray anymore...we are fervently praying for you! Joanna Young

Grammy said...

Dearest Angie, Nathan and Marianna:
I too have felt the incredibile sustaining power of the prayers of others. You are always in my heart and prayers.
This is my prayer for you today: "The LORD hear you in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend you; Send you help from the sanctuary, and stregthen you out of Zion."Ps. 20:1-2
I love each of you!!
Grammy (I believe that PAPA is praying for you too in the heavenlies)

Mandy said...

I will pray specifically for you. You are such an inspiration to me and I admire your outlook. I am thinking of you.

Mandy
GA
www.madelinegracehopkins.blogspot.com

amanda and bear said...

know that i am praying for you.

Anonymous said...

We are glad to know specifics to pray for. We are praying.

Anonymous said...

Nathan and Angie,
I learned about Poppy from another neighbor,Marge. She had found your blogspot and passed the information on to me. I have always been proud to have you as neighbors but never more than I am now. I wish that I could be a better neighbor and help you through this crisis, but, it seems to me that the faith you both have will sustain you as well as the many prayers being offered up for you. Just remember something that has sustained me many times: GOD DOESN'T GIVE YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN BEAR. Thanks for sharing. Joan

Rene said...

I'm so glad to know of your blogspot. We have been praying for you but now we can check in on you to see how we can specifically pray. You all are continually on our hearts and in our prayers.

jane nason said...

dear precious luce family,

If our precious Jesus allows Poppy to live for a period of time, I will have the privilege of being her connection teacher. It may not be that she is ever able to attend church, but please know that you are in my prayers and I want to be available to minister to you in any way that you need.

jane nason
faith baptist

Anonymous said...

Angie,
I keep reading your blog and trying to think of something meaningful to post, but everything seems so inadequte. So, I just wanted to respond to this one to let you know that I am praying for you, Nathan, Marianna, and Poppy every day.

Anonymous said...

Dear Angie and Nathan,
What an awesome testimony, ministry, and source of encouragement this is for so many. Thank you for responding so wonderfully and trusting God so faithfully! Thank you for allowing us to view and understand your thoughts, feelings, and prayer requests. Our family has been and continues to pray for each of you. We will pray with you that many people would come to Christ through this experience. What a great insight from the Lord! Our hearts are full as we praise Him for what He is doing and how immeasureably more HE is going to do! We love you. Our thoughts, prayers, and support are with you. We wanted to share with you a song you probably know "Praise you in the Storm" performed by Casting Crowns on their Lifesong album. Keep trusting and calling on Him!
Love,
Deb, Alan and family

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